New Orleans Bowl: Louisiana-Lafayette hoping to feel at home

Moments after Louisiana-Lafayette accepted its first bowl invitation in 41 years late last month, Coach Mark Hudspeth laid out a challenge. This one had nothing to do with his surprising 8-4 football team.

During the announcement ceremony inside the ULL indoor practice facility, Hudspeth issued a challenge to the fans on hand. He implored them to come to New Orleans for tonight's R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl against San Diego State at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in full force and "paint the city red."

By most accounts, the Ragin' Cajun fans have answered the coach's call. ULL sold nearly 19,000 tickets, and bowl officials expect tonight's crowd to shatter the New Orleans Bowl's previous attendance record of 30,228 set in 2009 when Southern Mississippi played Middle Tennessee State.

"This is kind of the matchup we have been looking forward to for the last several years," said Gregory Bronner, R+L Carriers senior director of marketing. "Any time you get a local school with local support that hasn't been to a bowl in 41 years, what a great story that is. It's going to be a great environment."

It's certainly expected to be a crowd partial to ULL, which advanced this far despite being picked in the preseason to finish last in the Sun Belt Conference.

Although the game supposedly is being played on a neutral field, the Ragin' Cajuns said they are expecting a home-field advantage.

ULL went 5-0 at home this season.

"I believe we are the home team," ULL receiver Javone Lawson said. "We came here and tried to make this our home by packing the Superdome with our fans. We'll just see what kind of momentum they give us.

"We haven't been to a bowl game in a long time, so I know there have been a lot of people waiting for this. I don't know how many people it will be, but I'm sure it will be a lot."

ULL linebacker Devon Lewis-Buchanan said the excitement leading up to the school's first bowl appearance since the Ragin' Cajuns played Tennessee State in the 1970 Grantland Rice Bowl is as much about the fans as it is about the team.

"I'm pretty sure the fans are looking forward to it, too," Lewis-Buchanan said. "I can't wait to see all that red in the Dome.

"It's been a tremendous part of our success. Having the community behind us with all the fan support and the student body going to each game, it's great to come out and play in that kind of atmosphere."

San Diego State can identify with what the Ragin' Cajuns are experiencing.

The Aztecs were in a similar situation last year when they made the Poinsettia Bowl, which is played at the Aztecs' home stadium, after not having made a postseason game the previous 12 years.

Heading into that game last season, some analysts pointed to the Aztecs' lack of bowl experience. But the Aztecs rallied behind the home crowd to wallop Navy 35-14.

"It's a real similar situation to what we were in last year," San Diego State quarterback Ryan Lindley said. "We were lucky enough to play in our home stadium in front our home crowd. And for these guys it's about a two-hour ride from what we heard, so they are definitely going to be traveling well and have the people behind them. It's the opposite, a complete role reversal. But we are excited about it."

Aztecs Coach Rocky Long, whose team is a five-point favorite, said the similarities to last year are a bit frightening.

"It makes me really nervous," Long said. "In my opinion, it's the same situation in reverse. ... I see all of the advantages toward them right now."

The Ragin Cajuns' are led by quarterback Blaine Gauthier, who ranked 19th nationally and led the Sun Belt Conference in passing efficiency (150.33), and tight end Ladarius Green, who has caught 46 passes for 485 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns.

Led by cornerback Dwight Bentley and safety Jake Molbert, ULL's defense has returned seven interceptions for touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Aztecs (8-4) have one of the nation's top running backs in sophomore Ronnie Hillman, who has for run for 1,656 yards and 19 touchdowns. Their offense also features Lindley, the senior quarterback who has thrown a school-record 87 career touchdowns.

Defensively they are led by linebacker Miles Burris, who leads the team in tackles (72), tackles for loss (19) and sacks (eight).

"They are a very talented team," Hudspeth said. "When you look at them offensively you see just a double-edge sword. If you try to put a lot of people in the box to stop Hillman, their quarterback can hurt you in the passing game with those big tight ends. If you try to spread out to stop the passing game, you are absolutely going to have a lot of trouble with Hillman running the football."